Vehicle video recording system with driver privacy

ABSTRACT

Methods and devices for controlling a camera on a vehicle may include determining a duty status of a driver of the vehicle. The methods and devices may also include controlling a recording status of at least one camera of a camera system on the vehicle based on the duty status.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a Continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.15/467,618, entitled, “VEHICLE VIDEO RECORDING SYSTEM WITH DRIVERPRIVACY” filed Mar. 23, 2017. The entirety of which is incorporated byreference herein.

BACKGROUND

The present disclosure relates to video recording and monitoringactivities inside and outside of a vehicle.

Drivers of vehicles, and in particular professional drivers of tractortrailers in a fleet, may face many challenges safely navigating vehiclesthrough traffic, congestion, weather and various road conditions. Fleetowners may want to record and monitor activities inside and outside offleet vehicles while drivers are operating fleet vehicles. Fleet ownersmay use the video to provide driver training to help prevent futurerisky behaviors. Professional drivers may also use fleet vehicles as aprivate residence when the driver is off duty. With the increase invideo monitoring both inside and outside of fleet vehicles, the privacyof professional drivers using a fleet vehicle as a private residence isa concern.

Thus, there is a need in the art for improvements in video recording andmonitoring activities of vehicles, and in particular, fleet vehicles.

SUMMARY

The following presents a simplified summary of one or moreimplementations of the present disclosure in order to provide a basicunderstanding of such implementations. This summary is not an extensiveoverview of all contemplated implementations, and is intended to neitheridentify key or critical elements of all implementations nor delineatethe scope of any or all implementations. Its sole purpose is to presentsome concepts of one or more implementations of the present disclosurein a simplified form as a prelude to the more detailed description thatis presented later.

One example implementation relates to a method. The method may includedetermining a duty status of a driver of the vehicle. The method mayalso include controlling a recording status of at least one camera of acamera system on the vehicle based on the duty status.

Another example implementation relates to a computer device. Thecomputer device may include a memory to store data and instructions anda processor in communication with the memory. The computer device mayalso include a camera privacy manager and a camera control component incommunication with the memory and the processor, wherein the cameraprivacy manager and the camera control components are operable todetermine a duty status of a driver of the vehicle, and control arecording status of at least one camera of a camera system on thevehicle based on the duty status.

Another example implementation relates to a computer-readable mediumstoring instructions executable by a computer device. Thecomputer-readable medium may include at least one instruction forcausing the computer device to determine a duty status of a driver ofthe vehicle. The computer-readable medium may include at least oneinstruction for causing the computer device to control a recordingstatus of at least one camera of a camera system on the vehicle based onthe duty status.

Additional advantages and novel features relating to implementations ofthe present disclosure will be set forth in part in the description thatfollows, and in part will become more apparent to those skilled in theart upon examination of the following or upon learning by practicethereof.

DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram of an example system for recordingand monitoring activities inside and outside of a vehicle in accordancewith an aspect;

FIG. 2 is a flow chart of a method for controlling a camera and amicrophone in a vehicle in accordance with an aspect;

FIG. 3 is a flow chart of a method for controlling a camera and amicrophone in a vehicle based on geolocation information in accordancewith an aspect; and

FIG. 4 is a schematic block diagram of an example computer device forcontrolling a camera and a microphone in a vehicle in accordance with animplementation of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present disclosure provides systems and methods for controlling therecording status of cameras and microphones within a vehicle to preservedriver privacy when a driver is off duty. An owner or manager of one ormore vehicles, such as a fleet owner, may want to record and monitoractivities inside and outside of the vehicle while drivers are operatingthe vehicles. While the present disclosure will be discussed usingexamples relating to a fleet owner and one or more fleet vehicles, itshould be understood that the systems and methods described may beutilized by any vehicle owner to monitor driver activity of any vehicle.

For example, fleet owners or managers may want to view video duringcritical driving events, such as, but not limited to, hard braking,speeding, hard turns, and collisions. By seeing what drivers experienceduring critical driving events, or at specific dates and times, fleetowners may be able to better understand exactly what occurred. Inaddition, fleet owners may use the video to provide driving training tohelp prevent future risky behaviors. In case of an accident or incidentfleet owners may be able to quickly determine what caused the incident.The systems and methods may provide video cameras inside and outside thecabin of a fleet vehicles so that video and/or audio monitoringcapabilities may be provided inside and outside the cabin during acritical event to capture the conditions external to the vehicle and thecorresponding behavior of a driver during a critical event.

However, professional drivers may also use fleet vehicles as a privateresidence when the driver is off duty. As such, professional drivers maynot want to have private activities and/or private conversationsrecorded when the driver is off duty. The systems and methods of thepresent disclosure may provide camera and/or audio controls to turn offthe cameras and/or audio recorders inside the fleet vehicles whendrivers are off duty to preserve driver privacy. In addition, thesystems and methods of the present disclosure may provide cameracontrols to turn on the cameras and/or audio recorders inside the fleetvehicles when the drivers are on duty to capture recordings and/orcorresponding audio, for example, during critical events or otherspecific dates and times for driver training or review. In addition, thesystems and method of the present disclosure may also provide cameracontrols to turn off or on the cameras and/or audio recorders inside thefleet vehicles based on a geographic location of the fleet vehicleand/or based on a entering a geographic area defined by a geo-fence.

Referring now to FIG. 1, a system 100 for video recording and monitoringactivities inside and outside of a vehicle may include one or more fleetvehicles 110 with at least one on-board computer device 102 having acamera privacy manager 26 for controlling the recording and storage ofvideo (and, optionally, audio) of a driver and/or an interior of fleetvehicle 110 by a camera system 109. Camera system 109 may include one ormore interior-recording cameras 108 and/or one or more exteriorrecording cameras 111. Interior-recording cameras 108 and/or exteriorrecording cameras 111 may include, but are not limited to, aforward-facing camera, a rear-facing camera, 360 degree cameras, dualcameras (e.g., an integrated interior-recording camera 108 andexterior-recording camera 111), and/or mirror mounted cameras. In somecases, camera privacy manager 26 may operate in coordination with acritical event application 24, which may additionally control therecording and storage of video (and, optionally, audio) of theenvironment inside and/or around fleet vehicle 110 by camera system 109.On-board computer device 102 may include a processor 34 and/or memory36. An example of processor 34 can include, but is not limited to, anyprocessor specially programmed as described herein, including acontroller, microcontroller, application specific integrated circuit(ASIC), field programmable gate array (FPGA), system on chip (SoC), orother programmable logic or state machine. An example of memory 36 caninclude, but is not limited to, a type of memory usable by a computer,such as random access memory (RAM), read only memory (ROM), tapes,magnetic discs, optical discs, volatile memory, non-volatile memory, andany combination thereof.

On-board computer device 102 may include any mobile or fixed computerdevice, which may be connectable in a wired or wireless manner tocommunication over one or more networks 104. On-board computer device102 may be, for example, a computer device such as a desktop or laptopor tablet computer, a cellular or satellite telephone, a gaming device,a mixed reality or virtual reality device, a music device, a television,a navigation system, a camera, a personal digital assistant (PDA), ahandheld communication device, or any other computer device having wiredand/or wireless connection capability with one or more other devices ornetworks.

In one implementation, on-board computer device 102 may be an electroniclogging device (ELD) having a duty status application 32 that keepstrack of a duty status 28 of a driver of fleet vehicle 110. For example,duty status 28 may include, but is not limited to, on duty, on dutydriving, off duty, off duty driving, sleeper berth, and unknown. Dutystatus application 32 may keep track of duty status 28 based on an inputfrom a driver to indicate a duty status or a change in duty status,and/or may automatically keep track of a duty status, e.g., based ondetected movement of fleet vehicle 110 and/or based on informationreceived from an electronic time keeping device. Additionally, forexample, in some implementations, on-board computer device 102 may be anOmnitracs Enterprise Services platform device, such as an IntelligentVehicle Gateway (IVG) device, or an Omnitracs XRS platform device, eachoffered by Omnitracs, LLC of Dallas, Tex.

Network 104 may provide one or more types of communication connections,such as any type of wired or wireless airlink, to on-board computerdevice 102, fleet vehicle 110, interior-recording camera(s) 108,exterior-recording camera(s) 111, and/or microphone(s) 109. For example,interior-recording camera 108 and/or microphone 109 may communicate overa wireless connection, such as a WiFi or Bluetooth connection, or over awired connection, with on-board computer device 102. Correspondingly,on-board computer device 102 may communicate over a WiFi or cellular orsatellite connection with network 104.

Network 104 allows on-board computer device 102 to communicate with oneor more remote communication devices 106. In one use case, remotecommunication device 106 may be a server associated with a networkmanagement center run by an operator of system 100, or remotecommunication device 106 may be a computer device of a vehicle owner,fleet owner, or fleet manager. In either case, the one or more remotecommunication devices 106 may be used to configure the operation ofcamera privacy manager 26 and/or critical event video application 24,and/or to receive the resulting recorded video (and/or audio) forstorage and/or analysis, such as via communications component 38 andnetwork 104 based on operation of camera privacy controller 27 andcritical event controller 25. In this case, camera privacy controller 27and critical event controller 25 may be computer-implementedinstructions, logic, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof thatenable interfacing with, sending commands and configuration data to,and/or receiving recorded video and/or audio or othervehicle-parameter-related data from, on-board computer device 102.Camera privacy controller 27 and critical event controller 25 may bestored and executed by a combination of memory 36 and processor 34 ofremote computer device 106.

Fleet vehicles 110 may include a group of one or more vehicles owned orleased by a business, government agency, or other organization orindividual. Fleet vehicle 110 may include a camera system 109 of one ormore cameras, such as interior-recording camera(s) 108 and/orexterior-recording camera(s) 111. For example, interior-recordingcamera(s) 108 may be located on fleet vehicle 110 to record theenvironment inside fleet vehicle 110 (e.g., positioned to record one ormore of the driver, the passenger, the dashboard, computer device 102,or anything inside the cab) and exterior-recording camera(s) 111 may belocated on fleet vehicle 110 to record the environment outside of fleetvehicle 110 (e.g., positioned to record one or more of an area in frontof the vehicle (including the road, other vehicles, etc.), the areas atthe sides of the vehicle, or the area behind the vehicle). As such,camera system 109 cameras may record and monitor activities insideand/or outside fleet vehicle 110. In an aspect, fleet vehicle 110 mayinclude a dual camera (e.g., an integrated interior-recording camera 108and exterior-recording camera 111) located inside a cabin of fleetvehicle 110 so that the dual camera may record and monitor activitiesinside the cabin of fleet vehicle 110 (e.g., driver behavior) and mayrecord and monitor activities outside the cabin of fleet vehicle 110(e.g., road and environmental conditions, and activity of other vehiclesnear fleet vehicle 110).

Each of the one or more interior-recording camera(s) 108 and/orexterior-recording camera(s) 111 may include a microphone 109 to recordand monitor activities inside and outside, respectively, of fleetvehicle 110. Each of the one or more interior-recording camera(s) 108and/or exterior-recording camera(s) 111 may also maintain a recordingstatus 12 that indicates whether each of the one or moreinterior-recording camera(s) 108 and/or exterior-recording camera(s) 111is on and recording information or is off and is not recordinginformation. In addition, each microphone 109 may include a microphonestatus 16 that indicates whether microphone 109 is on and recordinginformation or microphone 109 is off and is not recording information.Each of the one or more interior-recording camera(s) 108 and/orexterior-recording camera(s) 111 and the corresponding microphone(s) 109may be controlled independently. As such, each of the one or moreinterior-recording camera(s) 108 and/or exterior-recording camera(s) 111may or may not be recording video while the corresponding microphone(s)109 may or may not be recording sound.

On-board computer device 102 may include a camera control component 10operable to control recording status 12 of each of the one or moreinterior-recording camera(s) 108 and/or exterior-recording camera(s)111. In addition, on-board computer device 102 may include a microphonecontrol component 14 operable to control microphone status 16 of each ofthe one or more microphones 109. When fleet vehicle 110 includes aplurality of cameras 108, 111 and/or microphones 109, each individualcamera 108, 111 or microphone 109 may be controlled independently. Assuch, different cameras 108, 111 and/or microphones 109 may have adifferent recording status 12 and/or microphone status 16. For example,exterior-recording camera 111 of fleet vehicle 110 may have a recordingstatus 12 of on, while a driver facing interior-recording camera 108 offleet vehicle 110 may have a recording status 12 of off

Camera control component 10 and/or microphone control component 14 maycommunicate with a camera privacy manager 26 to determine the recordingstatus 12 of each of the one or more interior-recording camera(s) 108and/or exterior-recording camera(s) 111 and/or the microphone status 16of each microphone 109. Camera privacy manager 26 may apply one or morerules in determining the recording status 12 of each of the one or moreinterior-recording camera(s) 108 and/or exterior-recording camera(s) 111and/or the microphone status 16 of each microphone 109. The one or morerules may be based on, for example, the duty status 28 of a driver offleet vehicle 110. The one or more rules may also be based on a drivingstatus 30 of fleet vehicle 110. The one or more rules may also be basedon geolocation information 31 received from fleet vehicle 110.

For example, camera privacy manager 26 may determine duty status 28 of adriver of fleet vehicle 110. As noted above, duty status 28 may include,but is not limited to, on duty, on duty driving, off duty, off dutydriving, sleeper berth, and unknown. In an aspect, camera privacymanager 26 may request and receive the duty status 28 from duty statusapplication 32. Duty status application 32 may include, but is notlimited to, an hour of service application, an electronic time keepingapplication, an AOBRD (Automatic On-Board Recording Device), and an ELD.Duty status application 32 may keep track of duty status 28 based on aninput from a driver to indicate a duty status or a change in dutystatus. In addition, duty status application 32 may automatically keeptrack of a duty status. For example, duty status application 28 maydetermine a duty status 28 of a driver based on detected movement offleet vehicle 110 and/or based on electronic time keeping informationreceived from an electronic time keeping device. For example, a driverof fleet vehicle 110 may use on-board computer device 102 and dutystatus application 32 to update a current duty status 28 of the driver.For example, when the driver is finished driving for the day, the drivermay change the current duty status 28 from on duty to off duty usingduty status application 32. In another aspect, camera privacy manager 26may automatically receive the duty status 28 from duty statusapplication 32 that is tracking duty status 28 of a driver, such asbased on a change in duty status 28.

Further, for example, camera privacy manager 26 may also determinedriving status 30 of fleet vehicle 110. Driving status 30 may include,for example, a movement state of fleet vehicle 110, such as moving ornot moving. The movement state of fleet vehicle 110 may be a directmeasure of vehicle movement, such as velocity or acceleration, or anindirect vehicle movement-related parameter, such as a brake status. Forinstance, a brake status may include whether a parking brake is enabledor disabled. Camera privacy manager 26 may communicate with vehiclemovement component 18 to determine the movement state of fleet vehicle110.

Vehicle movement component 18 may receive one or more indicators of themovement state from fleet vehicle 110 to indicate whether fleet vehicle110 is moving. For example, vehicle movement component 18 may receivethe movement state in the form of a speed 20 of fleet vehicle 110. Inaddition, vehicle movement component 18 may receive the movement statein the form of a parking brake status 22 to indicate whether a parkingbrake of fleet vehicle 110 is set, e.g., engaged or disengaged. Vehiclemovement component 108 may receive the movement state information fromone or more monitoring or control devices, such as a controller areanetwork (CANbus) system and/or an Electronic Control Module (ECM),located on fleet vehicle 110. Vehicle movement component 18 may use thereceived speed 20 information and/or parking brake status 22 todetermine the movement state of fleet vehicle 110.

Camera privacy manager 26 may then apply one or more rules or conditionsfor determining the recording status 12 of each of the one or moreinterior-recording camera(s) 108 and/or exterior-recording camera(s) 111and/or microphone status 16 of each microphone 109. For example, therecording status 12 of interior-recording camera(s) 108 may be on whenparking brake status 22 is off and the vehicle speed 20 is over zero, asdriver privacy would not be expected when fleet vehicle 110 is beingoperated. As such, interior-recording camera(s) 108 may record and storevideo when the recording status 12 is on. Another example rule mayinclude turning the recording status 12 of interior-recording camera(s)108 to off after a predetermined time period (e.g., 10 seconds) when theparking brake is enabled (based on parking brake status 22) on fleetvehicle 110, for instance, to allow driver privacy when fleet vehicle110 is not being operated. Thus, interior-recording camera(s) 108 maystop recording and storing video when the recording status 12 is off.Another example rule may include turning the recording status 12 ofinterior-recording camera(s) 108 to on after a predetermined time period(e.g., 5 seconds) when the duty status 28 of the driver changes to onduty and fleet vehicle 110 is moving, as driver privacy would not beexpected when the driver is on duty and fleet vehicle 110 is beingoperated. Another example may include turning the recording status 12 ofinterior-recording camera(s) 108 to off after a predetermined timeperiod (e.g., 10 seconds) when the duty status 28 of the driver changesto off duty, sleeper berth, or unknown, for instance, to allow driverprivacy when the driver is not on duty. Another example rule may includeturning the recording status 12 of exterior-recording camera(s) 111 tooff when the duty status 28 of the driver changes to off duty, sleeperberth, or unknown, for instance, to allow driver privacy when the driveris not on duty. For example, if the fleet vehicle 110 is parked at thehome of the drive while the driver is not on duty, theexterior-recording camera(s) 111 may be turned to off to protect theprivacy of the driver at home. Another example rule may include turningthe microphone status 16 of microphone 109 of interior-recordingcamera(s) 108 to off after a predetermined time period when the dutystatus 28 of the driver changes to off duty, sleeper berth, or unknown,for instance, to allow driver privacy when the driver is not on duty.

In another implementation, which may be an alternative to or combinedwith the above duty status 28 and/or driving status 30 based rules,another example rule may be based on geographic location, such asturning the recording status 12 of camera 108 to off when thegeolocation information 31 indicates that fleet vehicle 110 is in arestricted area or a secured facility, such as, but not limited to, amilitary base or chemical facility. For example, camera privacy manager26 may receive the current geolocation information 31 of fleet vehicle110 from a terrestrial and/or satellite-based positioning system (e.g.,Global Positioning System (GPS)) component on fleet vehicle 110. Cameraprivacy manager 26 may interface with a repository (e.g., in memory 36)of landmarks and/or locations that may be identified as restricted areasor secured facilities. Camera privacy manager 26 may compare the currentgeolocation information 31 with the repository of landmarks and/orlocations to determine whether fleet vehicle 110 is located in arestricted area or secured facility. In another aspect, geofences may beestablished around restricted areas or secured facilities so that whenthe current geolocation information 31 of fleet vehicle 110 indicatesthat fleet vehicle 110 enters into the geofenced area, e.g., arestricted or secured area, camera privacy manager 26 may update therecording status of camera 108 to off. It should be noted that thegeofence may be defined based on locations stored in memory 36, and/orbased on receiving wireless signals, such as from a radio frequencyidentification (RFID) device or other wireless transmitter, thatidentify a geofenced area.

Other example rules for controlling the recording status 12 of each ofthe one or more interior-recording camera(s) 108 and/orexterior-recording camera(s) 111 and the microphone status 16 of eachmicrophone 109 are illustrated below in the following tables.

An example rule for controlling a recording status 12 ofinterior-recording camera(s) 108 when duty status 28 changes to “offduty driving,” and having camera off and on delays, is illustrated inthe below Table 1. In this case, duty status 28 having a “0” valueindicates that the driver-facing camera will be commanded to turn offwhen the driver's duty status changes to Off Duty Driving and a “1”value indicates that the driver-facing camera will be commanded to turnon when the driver's duty status changes to Off Duty Driving.

TABLE 1 Rule to control driver-facing camera upon duty status change to“off duty driving” Off Duty Delay to Turn Delay to Turn Driving CameraOff Camera On Camera Status 0 Y X OFF after Y seconds if not already OFF1 Y X ON after X seconds if not already ON

An example rule for controlling a recording status 12 of camera 108 whenduty status 28 changes to “on duty,” and having camera off and ondelays, is illustrated in the below Table 2. In this case, duty status28 having a “0” value indicates that the driver-facing camera will becommanded to turn off when the driver's duty status change to On DutyDriving, a “1” value indicates that the driver-facing camera will becommanded to turn on when the driver's duty status changes to On Duty,and a “2” value indicates that the driver-facing camera will becommanded to remain in its present recording state when the driver'sduty status changes to On Duty. The tertiary option allows, for example,a transition from Off Duty to On Duty to be treated differently than atransition from Driving to On Duty.

TABLE 2 Rule to control driver-facing camera upon duty status change to“on duty” Delay to Turn Delay to Turn On Duty Camera Off Camera OnCamera Status 0 Y X OFF after Y seconds if not already OFF 1 Y X ONafter X seconds if not already ON 2 Y X Remain in present stateIn Table, 2, by having an option (e.g., duty status 28 having the valueof “2”) to have the recording status 12 of interior-recording camera 108remain in the present state, the previous state may control therecording status 12 of interior-recording camera 108. For example, ifthe driver changed the duty status 28 from “off duty” to “on duty,” therecording status 12 of interior-recording camera 108 would remain offbecause the driver may be still preparing to drive. However, if thedriver or on-board computer device 102 (e.g., HOS application 24)changes the duty status 28 from “driving” to “on duty” because the fleetvehicle 110 remained still for a period of time, for example, 5 minutes,the interior-recording camera 108 would continue to record video becausethe driver is still working.

An example rule for controlling a recording status 12 ofinterior-recording camera 108 when duty status 28 changes to “on dutydriving” is illustrated in the below Table 3.

TABLE 3 Rule to control driver-facing camera upon duty status change to“on duty driving” On Duty Delay to Turn Delay to Turn Driving Camera OffCamera On Camera Status 0 Y X OFF after Y seconds if not already OFF 1 YX ON after X seconds if not already ON

An example rule for controlling a microphone status 16 of microphone 109when duty status 28 changes to “off duty driving” is illustrated in thebelow Table 4.

TABLE 4 Rule to control driver-facing camera microphone upon duty statuschange to “off duty driving” Off Duty Delay to Turn Delay to TurnMicrophone Driving) Camera Off Camera On Status 0 Y X OFF after Yseconds if not already OFF 1 Y X ON after X seconds if not already ON

An example rule for controlling a microphone status 16 of microphone 109when duty status 28 changes to “on duty” is illustrated in the belowTable 5.

TABLE 5 Rule to control driver-facing camera microphone upon duty statuschange to “on duty” Delay to Turn Delay to Turn Microphone On DutyCamera Off Camera On Status 0 Y X OFF after Y seconds if not already OFF1 Y X ON after X seconds if not already ON 2 Y X Remain in present state

By having an option to have the microphone status 16 of microphone 109remain in the present state, the previous state may control themicrophone status 16 of microphone 109. For example, if the driverchanged his status from “off duty” to “on duty,” the microphone status16 of microphone 109 would remain off because the driver may be stillpreparing to drive. However, if the driver or the ELD changes his statusfrom “driving” to “on duty” because the fleet vehicle 110 remained stillfor a period of time, for example, 5 minutes, the microphone 109 wouldcontinue to record video because the driver is still working.

An example rule for controlling a microphone status 16 of microphone 109when a duty status 28 changes to “on duty driving” is illustrated in thebelow Table 6.

TABLE 6 Rule to control driver-facing camera microphone upon duty statuschange to “on duty driving” On Duty Delay to Turn Delay to TurnMicrophone Driving Camera Off Camera On Status 0 Y X OFF after Y secondsif not already OFF 1 Y X ON after X seconds if not already ON

An example rule for controlling a recording status 12 ofinterior-recording camera 108 when driving status 30 changes, based onignition and parking brake states, along with camera on and off delays,is illustrated in the below Table 7.

TABLE 7 Rule to control driver-facing camera upon driving status changesParking Delay to Turn Delay to Turn Camera Ignition Brake Camera OnCamera Off Status Enabled Enabled X Y OFF after Y seconds EnabledDisabled X Y ON after X seconds Disabled Enabled X Y OFF after Y secondsDisabled Disabled X Y OFF after Y seconds

An example rule for controlling a microphone status 16 of microphone 109when driving status 30 changes, based on ignition and parking brakestates, along with camera on and off delays, is illustrated in the belowTable 8.

TABLE 8 Rule to control driver-facing camera microphone upon drivingstatus changes Parking Delay to Turn Delay to Turn Microphone IgnitionBrake Camera On Camera Off Status Enabled Enabled X Y OFF after Yseconds Enabled Disabled X Y ON after X seconds Disabled Enabled X Y OFFafter Y seconds Disabled Disabled X Y OFF after Y seconds

As mentioned above, on-board computer device 102 may also includecritical event video application 24 operable to cause video (and audio)to be recorded, and to enable retrieval of recorded video (and audio)from interior-recording camera(s) 108 and/or exterior-recordingcamera(s) 111. For example, critical event video application 24 may beconfigured with one or more critical event rules 29 that triggerinterior-recording camera(s) 108 and/or exterior-recording camera(s) 111to record video (and/or audio). Critical event rules may includedetection of one or more critical events associated with the operationof fleet vehicle 110. Suitable examples of a critical event may include,but is not limited to, one or any combination of hard braking, the useof the anti-lock braking system (ABS), roll stability state, a lanedeparture warning, and a following time violation. A following timeviolation may include when a quotient of a distance to the vehicle infront of the fleet vehicle 110 (as measured by, for example, a radarsystem) divided by the speed of fleet vehicle 110 is less than aconfigurable number of seconds for a configurable period of time (e.g.,2 seconds for 2 minutes).

Critical event rules 29 may additionally include rules on a how longrecording should be maintained, and/or rules on uploading or providingaccess to the recorded video (and/or audio). Further, critical eventrules 29 may specify other vehicle parameter information that is to becollected (e.g., from a CANbus or ECM) along with the video and/or audiofrom one of more internal cameras 108 and/or external cameras 111.Critical event controller 25 at remote computer device 106 can configureone or more critical event rules 29, and/or can generate a request forvideo to be sent to on-board computer device 102 in response to a userrequest (e.g., for video associated with a critical event, or for videoassociated with a specific date/time). In some cases whereinterior-recording camera(s) 108 and/or exterior-recording camera(s) 111may be recording continuously, the amount of video retrieved beforeand/or after a critical event may be configured by a user or may bepredetermined by critical event controller 25 or critical event videoapplication 24. Critical event video application 24 may retrieve andupload video automatically upon the occurrence of one or more criticalevents. Thus, fleet owners or managers, via operation of critical eventcontroller 25 at remote computer device 106, may receive reliableinformation quickly to help identify a cause of the critical event, helpdefend a driver who was involved in an accident, and/or to identifyunacceptable driving behaviors.

Because camera privacy manager 26 may communicate with camera controlcomponent 10 and/or microphone control component 14 to update therecording status 12 of interior-recording camera(s) 108 and/orexterior-recording camera(s) 111 or microphone status 16 of eachmicrophone 109 based on one or more of the duty status 28 and/or thedriving status 30, when critical event video application 24 retrievesand uploads video based on the critical event rules 29 and/or inresponse to a user request, driver privacy may be maintained becauseinterior-recording camera(s) 108 and/or exterior-recording camera(s) 111may be inactive when the driver uses the fleet vehicle 110 as a privateresidence or based on one or video recording rules designed to ensuredriver privacy.

In another aspect, instead of camera privacy manager 26 controlling therecording status 12 of interior-recording camera(s) 108 and/orexterior-recording camera(s) 111 or each microphone 109 based on theduty status 28 and/or driving status 30, camera privacy manager 26 maycommunicate with critical event video application 24 to prevent videobeing retrieved from interior-recording camera(s) 108 and/orexterior-recording camera(s) 111 during the time periods the duty status28 changes to off duty, sleeper berth, or unknown to preserve driverprivacy.

Referring now to FIG. 2, a method 200 for controlling a recording statusof a camera and/or a microphone on a vehicle may be executed by on-boardcomputer device 102 (FIG. 1).

At 202, method 200 may include determining a duty status of a driver ofa vehicle. A duty status may include, for example, on duty, on dutydriving, off duty, off duty driving, sleeper berth, and unknown. Cameraprivacy manager 26 may determine a duty status 28 of a driver of fleetvehicle 110. Camera privacy manager 26 may request and receive the dutystatus 28 from duty status application 32. A driver of fleet vehicle 110may use on-board computer device 102 and duty status application 32 toupdate a current duty status 28 of the driver. For example, when thedriver is finished driving for the day, the driver may change thecurrent duty status 28 from on duty to off duty using duty statusapplication 32. In another aspect, camera privacy manager 26 mayautomatically receive the duty status 28 from duty status application 32that is tracking the duty status 28 of a driver, such as based on achange in duty status 28 and/or from an electronic time keeping device.In another aspect, camera privacy manager 26 may receive the duty status28 from an electronic logging device (ELD) tracking a number of hoursthe driver has driven.

At 204, method 200 may optionally include determining a driving statusof the vehicle. For example, in one implementation, camera privacymanager 26 may determine a driving status 30 of fleet vehicle 110.Driving status 30 may include, for example, a movement state of fleetvehicle 110, such as moving or not moving. The movement state of fleetvehicle 110 may be a direct measure of vehicle movement, such asvelocity or acceleration, or an indirect vehicle movement-relatedparameter, such as a brake status. For instance, a brake status mayinclude whether a parking brake is enabled or disabled. Camera privacymanager 26 may communicate with vehicle movement component 18 todetermine the movement state of fleet vehicle 110.

At 206, method 200 may include controlling a recording status of atleast one camera of a camera system on the vehicle based on the dutystatus. Fleet vehicle 110 may include a camera system 109 with aplurality of cameras, such as one or more interior-recording camera(s)108 and/or one or more exterior-recording cameras 111. In addition, oneor more cameras on fleet vehicle 110 may be a dual camera thatintegrates interior-recording camera 108 and exterior-recording camera111 so that the dual camera may record and monitor activities inside thecabin of fleet vehicle 110 and may record and monitor activities outsidethe cabin of fleet vehicle 110. A recording status 12 ofinterior-recording camera 108, exterior-recording camera 111, and/ordual camera may include on or off.

A camera control component 10 may control a recording status 12 ofcameras in camera system 109. For example, camera control component 10may control one or more interior-recording camera(s) 108 and/or one ormore exterior-recording cameras 111. Camera control component 10 maycommunicate with a camera privacy manager 26 to determine the recordingstatus 12 of one or more interior-recording camera(s) 108 and one ormore exterior-recording cameras 111. Camera privacy manager 26 may applyone or more rules or conditions in determining the recording status 12of each of one or more interior-recording camera(s) 108 and one or moreexterior-recording cameras 111. The one or more rules may be based on,for example, a duty status 28 of a driver of fleet vehicle 110 and,optionally, a driving status 30 of fleet vehicle 110. An example rulemay include turning the recording status 12 of one or moreinterior-recording camera(s) 108 and/or one or more exterior-recordingcameras 111 to off after a predetermined time period (e.g., 5 seconds)when the duty status 28 of the driver changes to off duty, sleeperberth, or unknown. Another rule may include turning the recording status12 of one or more interior-recording camera(s) 108 and/or one or moreexterior-recording camera(s) 111 to off after a predetermined timeperiod (e.g., 10 seconds) when the parking brake is enabled on fleetvehicle 110. Thus, one or more interior-recording camera(s) 108 and/orone or more exterior-recording camera(s) 111 may stop recording andstoring video when the recording status 12 is off. Another rule mayinclude turning the recording status 12 of one or moreinterior-recording camera(s) 108 and/or one or more exterior-recordingcamera(s) 111 to on when the duty status 28 of the driver changes to onduty or on duty driving. As such, one or more interior-recordingcamera(s) 108 and/or one or more exterior-recording camera(s) 111 mayrecord and store video when the recording status 12 is on.

At 208, optionally, method 200 may include controlling a microphonestatus of a microphone located inside the vehicle based on the dutystatus. Microphone control component 14 may control a microphone status16 of microphone 109. Microphone control component 14 may communicatewith a camera privacy manager 26 to determine the microphone status 16of microphone 109. Camera privacy manager 26 may apply one or more rulesor conditions in determining the microphone status 16 of microphone 109.The one or more rules may be based on, for example, a duty status 28 ofa driver of fleet vehicle 110 and, optionally, a driving status 30 offleet vehicle 110. One example rule may include turning the microphonestatus 16 of microphone 109 to off after a predetermined time periodwhen the duty status 28 of the driver changes to off duty, sleeperberth, or unknown.

Referring now to FIG. 3, a method 300 for controlling a recording statusof a camera and/or a microphone on a fleet vehicle based on thegeolocation of the fleet vehicle may be executed by on-board computerdevice 102 (FIG. 1). It should be noted that method 300 may be executedin conjunction with method 200 such that the geographic location offleet vehicle 110 is another factor that determines whether or not acamera and/or microphone are turned on or off.

At 302, method 300 may include receiving geolocation information of avehicle. For example, camera privacy manager 26 may receive the currentgeolocation information 31 of fleet vehicle 110 from a terrestrialand/or satellite-based positioning system component on fleet vehicle110.

At 304, method 300 may include controlling a recording status of atleast one camera on the vehicle based on the geolocation information.Camera privacy manager 26 may determine that the recoding status 12 ofone or more cameras in camera system 109, such as one or moreinterior-recording camera(s) 108 and/or one or more exterior-recordingcamera(s) 111 may need to change based on the geolocation information 31of fleet vehicle 110. For example, if the geolocation information 31indicates that fleet vehicle 110 may be in a restricted area or asecured facility, such as, but not limited to, a military base orchemical facility, camera privacy manager 26 may notify camera controlcomponent 10 that the recording status 12 of one or moreinterior-recording camera(s) 108 and/or one or more exterior-recordingcameras 111 should be changed to off, if the current recording status 12of the respective camera is on. As such, one or more interior-recordingcamera(s) 108 and/or one or more exterior-recording camera(s) 111 maystop recording and storing video when the recording status 12 is off.Another example may include, if the geolocation information 31 indicatesthat fleet vehicle 110 may be on a highway or road, camera privacymanager 26 may notify camera control component 10 that the recordingstatus 12 of one or more interior-recording camera(s) 108 and/or one ormore exterior-recording cameras 111 should be changed to on, if thecurrent recording status 12 of the respective camera is off.

At 306, method 300 may include controlling a microphone status of amicrophone associated with the at least one camera based on thegeolocation information. Camera privacy manager 26 may determine thatthe microphone status 16 of microphone 109 may need to change based onthe geolocation information 31 of fleet vehicle 110. For example, if thegeolocation information 31 indicates that fleet vehicle 110 may be in arestricted area or a secured facility, camera privacy manager 26 maynotify microphone control component 14 that the microphone status 16 ofmicrophone 109 should be changed to off, if microphone 109 is notalready off.

Referring now to FIG. 4, illustrated is an example on-board computerdevice 102 in accordance with an implementation, including additionalcomponent details as compared to FIG. 1. In one example, on-boardcomputer device 102 may include processor 34 for carrying out processingfunctions associated with one or more of components and functionsdescribed herein. Processor 34 can include a single or multiple set ofprocessors or multi-core processors. Moreover, processor 34 can beimplemented as an integrated processing system and/or a distributedprocessing system.

On-board computer device 102 may further include memory 36, such as forstoring local versions of applications being executed by processor 34.Memory 36 can include a type of memory usable by a computer, such asrandom access memory (RAM), read only memory (ROM), tapes, magneticdiscs, optical discs, volatile memory, non-volatile memory, and anycombination thereof.

Further, on-board computer device 102 may include a communicationscomponent 38 that provides for establishing and maintainingcommunications with one or more parties utilizing hardware, software,and services as described herein. Communications component 38 may carrycommunications between components on on-board computer device 102, aswell as between on-board computer device 102 and external devices, suchas devices located across a communications network and/or devicesserially or locally connected to on-board computer device 102. Forexample, communications component 38 may include one or more buses, andmay further include transmit chain components and receive chaincomponents associated with a transmitter and receiver, respectively,operable for interfacing with external devices.

Additionally, on-board computer device 102 may include a data store 40,which can be any suitable combination of hardware and/or software, thatprovides for mass storage of information, databases, and programsemployed in connection with implementations described herein. Forexample, data store 40 may be a data repository for camera controlcomponent 10 (FIG. 1), microphone control component 14 (FIG. 1), vehiclemovement component 18 (FIG. 1), critical event video application 24(FIG. 1), camera privacy manager 26 (FIG. 1), and/or duty statusapplication 32 (FIG. 1).

On-board computer device 102 may also include a user interface component42 operable to receive inputs from a user of on-board computer device102 and further operable to generate outputs for presentation to theuser. User interface component 42 may include one or more input devices,including but not limited to a keyboard, a number pad, a mouse, atouch-sensitive display, a navigation key, a function key, a microphone,a voice recognition component, any other mechanism capable of receivingan input from a user, or any combination thereof. Further, userinterface component 42 may include one or more output devices, includingbut not limited to a display, a speaker, a haptic feedback mechanism, aprinter, any other mechanism capable of presenting an output to a user,or any combination thereof.

In an implementation, user interface component 42 may transmit and/orreceive messages corresponding to the operation of camera controlcomponent 10, microphone control component 14, vehicle movementcomponent 18, critical event video application 24, camera privacymanager 26, and/or duty status application 32. In addition, processor 34executes camera control component 10, microphone control component 14,vehicle movement component 18, critical event video application 24,camera privacy manager 26, and/or duty status application 32, and memory36 or data store 40 may store them.

As used in this application, the terms “component,” “system” and thelike are intended to include a computer-related entity, such as but notlimited to hardware, firmware, a combination of hardware and software,software, or software in execution. For example, a component may be, butis not limited to being, a process running on a processor, a processor,an object, an executable, a thread of execution, a program, and/or acomputer. By way of illustration, both an application running on acomputer device and the computer device can be a component. One or morecomponents can reside within a process and/or thread of execution and acomponent may be localized on one computer and/or distributed betweentwo or more computers. In addition, these components can execute fromvarious computer readable media having various data structures storedthereon. The components may communicate by way of local and/or remoteprocesses such as in accordance with a signal having one or more datapackets, such as data from one component interacting with anothercomponent in a local system, distributed system, and/or across a networksuch as the Internet with other systems by way of the signal.

Furthermore, various implementations are described herein in connectionwith a device (e.g., on-board computer device 102), which can be a wireddevice or a wireless device. A wireless device may be a cellulartelephone, a satellite phone, a cordless telephone, a Session InitiationProtocol (SIP) phone, a wireless local loop (WLL) station, a personaldigital assistant (PDA), a handheld device having wireless connectioncapability, a computer device, a mixed reality or virtual realitydevice, or other processing devices connected to a wireless modem.

Moreover, the term “or” is intended to mean an inclusive “or” ratherthan an exclusive “or.” That is, unless specified otherwise, or clearfrom the context, the phrase “X employs A or B” is intended to mean anyof the natural inclusive permutations. That is, the phrase “X employs Aor B” is satisfied by any of the following instances: X employs A; Xemploys B; or X employs both A and B. In addition, the articles “a” and“an” as used in this application and the appended claims shouldgenerally be construed to mean “one or more” unless specified otherwiseor clear from the context to be directed to a singular form.

Various implementations or features may have been presented in terms ofsystems that may include a number of devices, components, modules, andthe like. It is to be understood and appreciated that the varioussystems may include additional devices, components, modules, etc. and/ormay not include all of the devices, components, modules etc. discussedin connection with the figures. A combination of these approaches mayalso be used.

The various illustrative logics, logical blocks, and actions of methodsdescribed in connection with the embodiments disclosed herein may beimplemented or performed with a specially-programmed one of a generalpurpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an applicationspecific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array(FPGA) or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistorlogic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designedto perform the functions described herein. A general-purpose processormay be a microprocessor, but, in the alternative, the processor may beany conventional processor, controller, microcontroller, or statemachine. A processor may also be implemented as a combination ofcomputer devices, e.g., a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, aplurality of microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in conjunctionwith a DSP core, or any other such configuration. Additionally, at leastone processor may comprise one or more components operable to performone or more of the steps and/or actions described above.

Further, the steps and/or actions of a method or algorithm described inconnection with the implementations disclosed herein may be embodieddirectly in hardware, in a software module executed by a processor, orin a combination of the two. A software module may reside in RAM memory,flash memory, ROM memory, EPROM memory, EEPROM memory, registers, a harddisk, a removable disk, a CD-ROM, or any other form of storage mediumknown in the art. An exemplary storage medium may be coupled to theprocessor, such that the processor can read information from, and writeinformation to, the storage medium. In the alternative, the storagemedium may be integral to the processor. Further, in someimplementations, the processor and the storage medium may reside in anASIC. Additionally, the ASIC may reside in a user terminal. In thealternative, the processor and the storage medium may reside as discretecomponents in a user terminal. Additionally, in some implementations,the steps and/or actions of a method or algorithm may reside as one orany combination or set of codes and/or instructions on a machinereadable medium and/or computer readable medium, which may beincorporated into a computer program product.

In one or more implementations, the functions described may beimplemented in hardware, software, firmware, or any combination thereof.If implemented in software, the functions may be stored or transmittedas one or more instructions or code on a computer-readable medium.Computer-readable media includes both computer storage media andcommunication media including any medium that facilitates transfer of acomputer program from one place to another. A storage medium may be anyavailable media that can be accessed by a computer. By way of example,and not limitation, such computer-readable media can comprise RAM, ROM,EEPROM, CD-ROM or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage orother magnetic storage devices, or any other medium that can be used tocarry or store desired program code in the form of instructions or datastructures and that can be accessed by a computer. Disk and disc, asused herein, includes compact disc (CD), laser disc, optical disc,digital versatile disc (DVD), floppy disk and Blu-ray disc where disksusually reproduce data magnetically, while discs usually reproduce dataoptically with lasers. Combinations of the above should also be includedwithin the scope of computer-readable media.

While implementations of the present disclosure have been described inconnection with examples thereof, it will be understood by those skilledin the art that variations and modifications of the implementationsdescribed above may be made without departing from the scope hereof.Other implementations will be apparent to those skilled in the art froma consideration of the specification or from a practice in accordancewith examples disclosed herein.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of controlling a camera on a vehicle,comprising: determining, by a processor, a duty status of a driver ofthe vehicle; applying, by the processor, one or more rules based atleast upon the duty status of the driver for determining a recordingstatus of at least one camera of a camera system on the vehicle, whereinthe recording status include an on status corresponding to recording andan off status corresponding to not recording; and controlling, by theprocessor, the recording status of the at least one camera based on theduty status.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the controlling therecording status of the at least one camera comprises: setting therecording status of the at least one camera to off when the duty statusis off duty; and setting the recording status of the at least one camerato on when the duty status is on duty.
 3. The method of claim 2, whereinthe duty status is off duty when the duty status is one of off duty, offduty driving, sleeper berth or unknown.
 4. The method of claim 1,wherein the duty status of on duty when the duty status is one of onduty or on duty driving.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein the at leastone camera comprises at least one of: at least one interior-recordingcamera, at least one exterior-recording camera or a dual camera.
 6. Themethod of claim 1, further comprising: determining a driving status ofthe vehicle; and wherein controlling the recording status of the atleast one camera further comprises setting the recording status of theat least one camera to off when the driving status indicates parkingbrake enabled.
 7. The method of claim 1, wherein controlling therecording status of the at least one camera further comprises settingthe recording status of the at least one camera to off when geolocationof the vehicle indicates the vehicle is in a restricted area or asecured facility.
 8. The method of claim 1, further comprising:receiving the duty status from a duty status application that keepstrack of a driver status.
 9. The method of claim 1, further comprising:controlling a microphone status of a microphone located inside thevehicle based on the duty status.
 10. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising: detecting a critical event; and wherein controlling therecording status of the at least one camera further comprises changingthe recording status of the at least one camera to on when the criticalevent is triggered even when the duty status is one or more of off duty,sleeper berth, or unknown.
 11. A computer device, comprising: a memoryto store data and instructions that define a camera privacy manager anda camera control component; and a processor in communication with thememory; wherein the processor is configured to execute the cameraprivacy manager and the camera control component to: determine a dutystatus of a driver of a vehicle; apply one or more rules based at leastupon the duty status of the driver for determining a recording status ofat least one camera of a camera system on the vehicle, wherein therecording status include an on status corresponding to recording and anoff status corresponding to not recording; and control the recordingstatus of the at least one camera based on the duty status.
 12. Thecomputer device of claim 11, wherein the camera control component isfurther operable to: set the recording status of the at least one camerato off when the duty status is off duty; and set the recording status ofthe at least one camera to on when the duty status is on duty.
 13. Thecomputer device of claim 12, wherein the duty status is off duty whenthe duty status is one of off duty, off duty driving, sleeper berth orunknown.
 14. The computer device of claim 11, wherein the duty status ofon duty when the duty status is one of on duty or on duty driving. 15.The computer device of claim 11, wherein the at least one cameracomprises at least one of: at least one interior-recording camera, atleast one exterior-recording camera or a dual camera.
 16. The computerdevice of claim 11, wherein the camera privacy manager is furtheroperable to determine a driving status of the vehicle and the cameracontrol component is further operable to set the recording status of theat least one camera to off when the driving status indicates parkingbrake enabled.
 17. The computer device of claim 11, wherein the cameracontrol component is further operable to set the recording status of theat least one camera to off when geolocation of the vehicle indicates thevehicle is in a restricted area or a secured facility.
 18. The computerdevice of claim 11, wherein the duty status is received from a dutystatus application that keeps track of a driver status.
 19. The computerdevice of claim 11, further comprising: a microphone control componentin communication with the memory and the processor operable to control amicrophone status of a microphone located inside the vehicle based onthe duty status.
 20. The computer device of claim 11, wherein the cameraprivacy manager is further operable to detect a critical event and thecamera control component is further operable to change the recordingstatus of the at least one camera to on when the critical event istriggered even when the duty status is one or more of off duty, sleeperberth, or unknown.